A Fresh Start
by lizzy'sWorld
Summary: Violet Marks was an average teenage girl until tragedy struck in her life. Now being moved across the country, she has to face a new start with her oblivious mother, an Aunt she has never met, and her aunt's husband with his "pack" of weird friends. Will her life ever just go back to normal?
1. Chapter 1

**I do Not own anything from Twilight. Just the original characters.**

Rain. That was all I have seen since I got off the plane, _2 hours_ ago. Don't get me wrong rain can have it's perks, but it is like an alternate universe when you grew up in Florida. Technically I was born in La Push, Washington, but my parents moved us to Miami when I was 1 so I don't even remember the place. Yet here I am stuck in a car, having had my whole life ripped away from me, returning to my "home".

Really the only thing I was happy about was that I could finally meet my Aunt Emily. Its been so long since I was happy it felt very foreign. As we passed the welcome sign to La Push I slumped as low as I could in my seat and tried to make myself disappear. I knew my mom had wanted a fresh start, but this seemed a _bit_ much. Not that my mom had much regard for other peoples feelings. She was a sweet lady, when she wanted to be, and I loved her to the end of the Earth and back but ever since last year she has seemed to distance herself from me.

Last year, the exact date being April 7, is something we **never** talk about. EVER. And it's not because I don't want to. In fact that is the only thing I wanted, is for her to actually talk to me, but when I tried to bring it up she would just say, "Not now, I can't deal with anything, I'm busy," and walk away. I have always been a little shy, but once I got to know somebody I wouldn't care telling them how I felt. It's not like I wanted to shut down and be a robot, only at home where I should be the most comfortable, but my mom really gave me no choice. And it sucked.

I guess I should explain the whole "last year" business before anyone gets confused. The only reason I am being uprooted to Washington is because my dad and little sister, Clover, died in a car crash last year and our home in Florida was filled with to many memories for my mom. Plus she said it would be a fun "bonding experience". As if, she has hardly said 3 words to me the entire trip. Clover was always the favored child, not that I minded, I loved her to much to care. But when she and my father died it was like I could physically see the 10 foot pole that was pushing me and my mom apart. And I've tried, very hard I might add, to fix our relation ship, the accident, even her possibly hating me. But it just hasn't seemed to work.

So here I was now, just pulling up into the drive way of our new home, feeling a sense of dread fill me as I thought about the next year of my life.  
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As I opened the trunk, I looked over the top to study the house a little. It was a cute, small place. It looked like it was 2 stories, and I knew I got my own bedroom, so that was a plus. The outside was white with dark green shudders, a small slightly beat up porch, and a few pine trees here and there. I unloaded all the bags, knowing my mom wasn't going to come out of the house anytime soon. She had only seen pictures, so she was in full business mode going through ever single part of the house. The rain had slowed to a drizzle by now so I was only half soaked when I managed to get the bags through the door.

"Mom!", I yelled as I slammed the door behind me. "I got all the bags inside and am going up to unpack."

"ok," was her simple reply. Not that I was shocked, but it still hurt. And with that I trudged up the slightly narrowed stairs to see my bedroom. I would explore more of the house tomorrow.

I opened the door and took in my surroundings. It really wasn't bad, maybe a little bright for my taste, but not what I was expecting. The walls were a bright turquoise color and the floor was a soft, white carpet. The movers had been here the day before so all of my furniture was in place, now it just needed a personal touch. I set my luggage down in the middle of the floor and turned to shut my door. I had 1 window, which was facing my door, and it had the prettiest view of the beach. There was another up. My bed was on the opposite wall, my desk right beside it. I picked up my suitcase and started unpacking, hoping that tonight I could get some sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Again I sadly don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

I woke up the next day tired and groggy. I had probably gotten about 2 hours of sleep because I just laid there staring at the wall. Dragging myself out of bed I walked over to my desk and brushed out my hair. I slowly walked down the stairs, not sure what type of mood my mother would be in. I hoped she would be decent since we are going to Emily's house today. But I guess I was wrong.

When I walked in the kitchen I said good morning and got the usual silent response and a small smile. Maybe this day was going to be longer than I thought. "So, what time do you thing we will head over there?" I asked to break the silence. She sat there a second before saying, "Maybe an hour. You should go get ready." And with that she got up and walked out of the kitchen. I was seriously getting tired of the silent treatment.

After I ate my breakfast, bacon and eggs, I went upstairs to get ready. The big plus to this house was that the upstairs only consisted of my bedroom and the bathroom. So I got my space.

I looked out my window to see it was sprinkling, again, and let out a big sigh. I mean what place gets this much rain at the beginning of March? I walked over to my closet and puled out some old jeans that had holes in the knees, a black tank top with my red flannel, and some black converse. Might as well dress for comfort if I am going to get wet walking to the car. I headed down stairs and found my mom waiting on the porch.

"Can I drive today?" I asked since she wouldn't let me drive the entire trip. And I really missed driving. "I guess, you know the roads about as well as I do at this point." I just stood there kind of shocked for a second. I think that was the longest sentence my mom has said to me in almost a year. I quickly recovered myself and took the keys from her running down to the car.

As I backed out of the drive way I looked at my mom out of the corner of my eye, and found her smiling slightly. This was truly a big surprise, it's been even longer since I saw her smile. She was a pretty women, but she was really gorgeous when she smiled. She had long, straight black hair, dark brown eyes, and the darker skin tone of the natives from La Push. The only thing that we had in common was the hair color. Mine was the same coal black but it was very wavy. I had light blue eyes and a tan skin tone that was slightly lighter than my moms.

I was pulled out of my musings when I heard my mom say,"Violet, turn right in about half a mile." It almost made me jump, I had about forgotten she was in the car. " Ok will do. How long has it been since you have seen Emily?" I asked trying to see if she would hold conversation today. A found smile pulled at her lips and she responded, "It has been almost 8 years, far to long to go without seeing my sister. Life just got busy I guess." Huh, maybe today would turnout ok after all, I thought as I pulled into a small drive way next to the woods.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry that the last chapter was a little short but this one will be a little longer.**

 **I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

I put the car in park and took the keys out of the ignition. The house was small and some of the paint was peeling a little, but it was cute and had a homey feel to it. I gave the keys to my mom and opened my door to get out. I have never met this woman before so I had no idea what to expect. Taking a deep breath I started up the drive way.

One thing I had learned over the years was that my moms side of the family could be a little harsh, closed off, and sometimes just plain rude. Which is why I nearly had a stroke when a women younger than my mom but with some of the same features, more than likely my aunt, came sprinting out of the door. Right towards me. Before I had time to react I was locked in possibly the biggest bear hug this little woman could give. Not being used to much affection it took me awhile to respond to the hug. After she was done hugging me she went over and gave my mom a slightly less abrasive hug.

"Laura! I can't believe your really here! It has been so long since I've seen you. Oh! And you must be Violet. Good lord you've grown up so fast," she said all within the same breath. I'm honestly not sure if this is really my aunt, I mean she's just so _different_. It's a good different but I'm just not used to it. "Yep, that would be me. It's really great to finally meet you," I said not really sure what to do. I was never really good with social events and strangers.

Sensing my discomfort she quickly said, "Come on inside and I will show you guys the house. And you will get to meet Sam later, he had some.. um.. work to do." Well that wasn't a horrible attempt at a lie. And I would know. I have mastered that skill in the past year. So maybe she is from the family after all. Mom's side also keeps a lot of secrets. Me and mom followed close behind her, my mother still smiling like some overly excited tourist on a cruise ship. She held the door open for us to come in and the first thing I noticed was the smell. It smelt like homemade cookies which automatically made me like Emily more. I loved to bake so there was a common ground.

The house tour didn't take long, maybe 30 minutes, so we headed to the kitchen to get some coffee. While the adults caught up I just sat there, enjoying seeing my mom look so, well, alive. Maybe this move was a good thing after all, we shall just have to wait and see. Just when Emily pulled me into conversation there was, what I would describe it as, mass chaos in the door way. About 8 guys busted through the door way yelling, laughing, and punching each other. While Emily told them to calm down my mom stood up to introduce herself and I just sat there about to die of a heart attack. Not only was I shy, but I always embarrassed myself in front of boys. Not that you could call these people boys. They were HUGE. All of them were at least 6,4 and extremely muscular. So translation, it would probably be better if a hole opened in the ground and swallowed me.

"Boys! Calm down please. There is a time and place for rough housing and it is not in my living room. And we have other people here," Emily said as she walked over to one of the guys. He kissed her forehead, while she beamed up at him. It made me kind of uncomfortable to watch. When I felt like I probably should look away my mom spoke up and, unknowingly, saved me from anymore embarrassment. "So, Emily, I am assuming this is Sam?" my mom asked looking very happy for her younger sister. "Yep! You would be correct," she replied almost looking like she had forgotten we were standing in her kitchen. "Well, it is nice to finally meet you, Sam," she replied going over to shake his hand.

"Likewise, it is a pleasure to meet you. Em always talks about you. And you must be Violet, right?" he asked me, an authoritative tone in his voice. Realizing it would probably be smart to respond I stood up and introduced myself. "Yeah, I'm violet. It's nice to meet you," I replied my voice fading a little at the end. Not that anybody seemed to notice, they all looked happy to meet some new people.

Then Emily must have realized that my mom and I had no idea who anybody else was because she started on introductions. "I'm sorry, you guys must want to know who everybody is. I'll just go from right to left then. Closest to the front door is Jacob. Next to him is Collin and Brady, they're twins in case you didn't notice. Then paul and Jared. And closest to the window is Quill. Embry will be here later tonight, he and his mom had some things to discus." I was mentally trying to memorize their names but it was kind of hard because they looked so much like each other. The twins didn't help much either.

After introductions were finished all the guys said hello then sat in the living room. Well most of them sat down, some had to stand because there was no room left to sit. I just stood awkwardly next to my mom, her being totally oblivious to my discomfort. I really needed to try to talk to her now that she seemed in better spirits. But that would have to wait till later. About 20 minutes later Emily called that dinner was ready but me and my mom weren't hungry because we had eaten a big lunch on the way over. Not only were these boys huge but so were their appetites. I mean holy moly they ate like 4 plates each.

I had been sitting there talking to Emily about starting my first day of school Monday when the phone rang. I told her I would get it and just tell her if somebody needed her or Sam. She told me the phone was on the wall next to the stove so I got up and walked over to it. "Hello?" I said and waited a second for somebody to answer. When nobody did I said, "Hello? Is anybody there?" and to my relief somebody finally answered. "Yeah, hi. Sorry I wasn't expecting a stranger to answer the phone. I was just calling to talk to Sam. Would you just tell him Embry called and said he couldn't make it tonight?" he asked me. I sat there for a second distracted by his voice until I realized I needed to say something. "Um, yeah, I will tell him you called. Bye," and then I hung up the phone not wanting to sound any more stupid than I already sounded.

I slowly walked back to the table and sat down. "Who was that?" Emily asked, sounding curious. "Oh, um, he said his name was Embry and he wanted me to tell you he wouldn't be able to make it over tonight. And he also said something under his breath about wanting to talk to Sam," I said feeling very shy at the moment. Then one of the boys, Quill I think, groaned and said, "Come on man! This is 2 nights in a row. His mom is taking this way to far." I had no idea what they were talking about so I just stayed quiet and listened to conversation for the rest of the night. When 8 o'clock rolled around my mom said she was getting tired and we would be heading home.

"Well, Laura, it was so good to see you again! And it was very nice to meet you Violet. And Laura if you want you can come over Monday and we can find you a job," Emily said while she finished hugging me and my mom. "That would be great, Em. I'll see you then." And with that we walked out to the car and my mom drove us home. I was hoping the good mood would have stuck but I guess my mom was done trying to pretend she liked me and didn't respond when I tried to talk to her. She looked like she was thinking very hard about something, which was never good. When she got lost in thought she tended to get kind of cranky.

We pulled up to the house and mom got out of the car to unlock the door. When she went inside she didn't even say goodnight, she just walked to her bedroom and shut the door. I'm not sure why this hurt my feelings so much, it was very normal behavior, but I guess I was hoping that today was a sign of improvement in our relationship. And to get proven wrong just hurt. So I did the only thing I have wanted to do since I found out that part of my family died, I went upstairs and cried.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own any Twilight characters. I only own the plot to this story.**

Today was Monday, it was also my first day back at school. Normally I would be filled with dread but after spending a whole day trying to avoid my mother yesterday, I was just looking forward to getting out of the house. Emily had called yesterday to tell me that some of the boys are in my grade so I won't be completely alone. Not that I expected them to talk to me.

I dragged my sorry butt out of bed and over to my closet. I knew it was a little cold outside because I had forgotten to close my window last night so I looked for something that would keep me warm. I pulled out some black leggings, a grey and light teal nike hoodie, and some grey tennis shoes. I don't like dressing up much and I really wasn't in the mood for it on school days, so I just try to go for casual. After I got dressed and braided my hair I went down stairs to eat a quick breakfast.

Once I had washed my dishes I grabbed my backpack and walked out to the car. My mom had started it about 3 minutes ago and was waiting for me. I guess she wanted to get out of the house too. It only took about 10 minutes to get to the school, which was both good and bad. It was good because I could get out of the car faster, it was bad because I wasn't fully awake yet. My mom dropped me off by the front doors of the school and then drove away. Well, it was now or never.

Taking a deep breath I pushed the door open and made my way through a small group of students, who stared at me the whole time, and walked to the front office. The lady behind the desk was nice enough, but she looked really busy and didn't really explain how to navigate my way through the school. So now I had a schedule and no clue how to get to the classes on that schedule. Just great.

Just as I was about to find some courage and ask some stranger for help I heard my name. "Violet! Hey. Emily told us you would be starting school with us today," one of the guys from Saturday, Jared, said as he, Paul, and a girl I had never seen walked towards me. "Um yeah. I'm actually kind of glad you guys found me. I have no idea where any of my classes are," I really hated to tell them that but I wasn't going to just walk around lost. Then the girl next to Jared spoke, "That's fine. We can show you around today. Here let me see your schedule. Oh, I'm Kim by the way." I could already tell I was going to like her. "That would be great, thanks. I think my first class is calculus," I said already knowing that class was going to suck. After giving her my schedule I learned I had a class with each one of them so I wouldn't be alone at least.

The rest of the day actually wasn't horrible. With the exception of art. I can't draw to save my life and the teacher acted like all of us should be as good as Picasso. Thankfully that was my last class so when the bell rang I practically ran to my locker. The whole time Kim was following behind me laughing, although I didn't see what was so funny. When I got to my locker I was putting my books away when she said, "Seriously, I have never seen someone leave a room that fast, well a room that wasn't on fire!" At this I couldn't hold back my laughter anymore and said, "Technically it was on fire because that teacher was Satan, and Satan lives in Hell, and Hell is a burning pit of fire." At this she just started laughing harder and was in tears by the time we went to met the guys outside.

When we got there they all raised a questioning eyebrow at Kim, making another round of giggles start up. At that I explained, "Kim here thinks it is funny that our art teacher is a demon. And she finds my non artistic ability quite hilarious." At that point she had calmed down enough and jumped in to defend herself. "Hey! It's not my fault that you can't draw. And besides your facial expressions were priceless!" Just as she finished talking my mom pulled up in the parking lot and suddenly all the dread I should have felt this morning came crashing down as reality struck. I had to face my mother and even school couldn't save me now. I started walking to the car saying bye to everyone and looking everywhere but my mom.

After I had shut my door I figured I should be the first one to break the ice. "Hey mom. How was your day?" I really hoped she was going to talk to me today. And then she did the last thing I thought she was going to do. "Oh. So you wanted to speak to me today. Well my day was just fine." It literally felt like she had hit me with a brick. But instead of getting my feelings hurt I got really mad. How dare she? After all of the crap she has put _me_ through? She is mad because I didn't talk to her for one day?

"Are you joking right now? You have got to be joking, mom." I mean seriously how shallow was that?

"I honestly don't see how any of this is very funny, Vi." Oh my GOD! Was she seriously scolding me right now?

I knew that I was close to snapping and neither of us was prepared for it so I didn't say anything the rest of the car ride home. When she stopped the car I gave her no chance to say anything to me about what happened and slammed the car door shut. As I walked into the house I seriously wanted to throw something at my mother and I knew I needed to get out of the house. So I called the only person I could think of. Emily.


	5. Chapter 5

**I sadly don't own any of the Twilight characters.**

I was practically hyperventilating by the time Emily picked up the phone. At this point I wasn't sure if I could think straight enough to walk to her house. But I knew I couldn't be with my mom right now. I jumped when I heard Emily's voice over the receiver, "Hello? Um, is anybody there?" I wasn't exactly sure how to respond to her so I just got straight to the point. "Emily? It's Violet. I was wondering if I could come over. But it's fine if your busy I just... I... needed to get out of the house." Well that wasn't obvious, now she's probably going to ask what's wrong. "Well I don't see why not. Sam has some of the boys over but if you don't care it's fine." Ok, thank God one of my plans finally worked. "Sure, I'll be right there. Bye!"

I grabbed my jacket off of the chair and ran down the stairs. Just as I was about to open the door my mom yelled, "Where are you going? I don't remember you having plans." I couldn't talk to her right now. She was the reason I felt like my home was a prison. " I just need some air!" I yelled as slammed the door behind me. Thankfully I drove to Emily's Saturday so I remembered how to get there. It took me about 15 minutes to get there on foot but that was only because I ran. Finally her house came into view and I slowed down to a walk.

Right before I knocked I tried to compose myself, at least the best I could. I'm not sure being slightly sweaty, breathing hard from running, and having really bad windblown hair is the best way to show up at somebody's house but I didn't really care. Just as I knocked I remembered Sam had company and cursed myself mentally for always interrupting things. Just as I started to walk away from the door I heard Emily's voice from behind me. "Violet? Where are you going?" I was really close to bursting into tears but I knew I had to answer her.

I slowly turned around and with a shaky voice said, "I j-just needed to get away from the h-house." I knew she was worried from the look on her face but the last thing I wanted to do was make her worry about me. "It's n-nothing. Really. I can go now if you want. I just had a fight with mom..." my voice eventually trailed off not knowing how to finish my sentence. Emily's face went from concern to understanding and she walked over and took my hand. "Why don't you come inside and we can talk about it, ok?" I just nodded my head and followed her up the front steps and trough the front door. I saw Sam sitting with 2 other boys at the kitchen table having what sounded like a heated discussion and felt bad for interrupting. " I can go if now isn't a good time," I told Emily not wanting to intrude on her or Sam's personal business. " Of course not. You look pretty upset and I would feel like a bad aunt if I just let you leave. Now come here and sit next to me." She pointed to a spot next to her on the couch and I sat down not really sure what to do next.

"So, do you want to tell me what happened. And why look like you ran all the way over here?" Emily started when she saw I was just going to sit there. I laughed a little bit before saying, "Well for starters I did run all the way over here, so thanks for noticing. As for what happened, well, I'm not exactly sure. So I'm just going to start from the beginning. I always knew me and mom weren't super close but I never thought we had a strained relationship either. Then when the accident happened it was like we were strangers. Everyday I tried to talk to her, to make things better, but she always brushed me off and eventually she just ignored me. And she **never** let us talk about the accident. She still doesn't. I know she is your sister and you hated having to hear her pain over phone but Emily you have no idea how hard it has been to see her everyday. She never smiles or laughs or does _anything._ So when we came here I took it as a good sign. That she wanted a new start, and she was ready to move on. Then I saw her with you and she was talking again, and I just felt that she was getting better and we were finally getting somewhere. But then we got in the car to go and she just looked lost in thought. So I tried to talk to her because she gets kind of emotional when she thinks to much, and she just brushed me off. Then we got home and she walked in the house, turned to look at me, and then shut her bedroom door in my face. That night was the first night I have cried since the accident happened. So anyways the next day I didn't really know how to face her so I just ignored her all day. Then today I get in the car for school and say good morning and am answered by silence. Not that it isn't normal but it felt like this was a different type of silence. There was more tension than normal. Then later, after school, she picks me up and I figured I should try to actually talk to her. I asked her how her day went and she just got this look on her face. Then she says, 'oh. So you want to talk to me today huh?' or some crap like that and I just got so mad. I mean after a whole year of silence she gets mad at me over one day? One day. Emily I just don't know how much longer I can handle this..." by that point I was crying so hard I was shaking and Emily just sat there with a shocked expression on her face. While I was talking to her I hadn't noticed that Sam and the others had stopped talking and were just sitting there. All of a sudden Emily pulled me into a gentle hug and just held me while I cried. Once I had calmed down Emily said, "I'm not sure how but I promise that, as a family, we will figure out a way to fix all of this. Or at least mend it a little. But for the time being do you want to stay here for the night? It's a little late for you to walk home." I was really tempted to stay but I couldn't. "Emily I would love to but I can't. I have school tomorrow and I told my mom I would be home way before now. What time is it anyway?" I probably should have left about 2 hours ago. "It is... 8:00," Sam said from the kitchen table. Oh crap! "What? My mom's probably freaking out! I need to get home. Thanks again Emily for letting me come over. I promise I'll be careful but I really need to leave now. It takes like 15 minutes to walk back home."

Just as I was about to walk out of the house I heard Sam say, "Embry will you walk her home please? So Em doesn't have a stroke." What? Why did someone have to come with me? It's not like I can't remember the way to my house. And besides he could be some murderer and I could be safer walking home by myself. "Sure Sam. I'm already in hot water with my mom. Being a little late verses being very late won't make a difference at this point," a voice, Embry I think, responded. Then I remembered that I had talked to him on the phone and he seemed a little less scary for some reason. I walked over and held the door open for him and waved to Emily before following him outside. From what I've been able to see he was gorgeous and I haven't even seen his face yet. After walking in silence for about 5 minutes I decided to try to start a conversation. And lord help me, I wanted to shoot myself after I said my next words. "So... we both have mom issues from what I've gathered." I can't believe I just said that to him! Stupid word vomit. The only thing that surprised me more was when he replied. "I guess you could say that. But I think you might have me beat," he chuckled at the end of this and I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped from my mouth. "I think you might be right."

After that we walked in a comfortable silence the rest of the way back to my house. When we got close enough to see my front porch I stopped in the drive way, feeling really shy all of a sudden. "Um, thanks for um walking me back, I guess." He laughed at me causing me to blush and stare down and my feet. I thought I heard him mumble something so I looked up to ask him to repeat what he said when I stopped dead in my tracks. His eyes were the most beautiful things I have ever seen. When I looked into them it was like everything in the world faded and he was the only thing that I would ever need. I saw him suck in a deep breath which caused me to snap back to reality. I have no idea what happened but I don't think I really care either. I stood there for a few seconds, letting him compose himself some, before I asked, "What _was_ that?" Maybe I should have composed myself a little more, my voice was barely above a breathless whisper. Yet some how he still heard me. He looked at me for a second before he answered. "I-I can't explain everything tonight but I promise the next time I see you I will have an answer." What the heck was that supposed to mean? "When is the next time I'm going to see you?" I asked, wondering why I was feeling so attached to somebody I had just met. "Well, I'm not sure but I promise that it will be sometime this week." And with that he kissed my forehead and walked away.

I stood there for probably 10 minutes before I remembered I needed to go inside. I took a deep breath and opened the front door. My mom was sitting on the couch, asleep so I quickly texted Emily, telling her I had made it home safe and I needed to talk to her after school tomorrow. Just as I was about to go upstairs to take a shower I tripped and fell on the stairs. Dang it, that hurt. "When did you get home?" I heard a voice ask me. Oh crap. I've only heard that tone only a handful of times and it was never good. I slowly got up and turned around to look at my now very awake and very angry mother. Double crap. Since I couldn't think of a lie at the moment I decided to go with the truth. "Well, I just got home, but don't worry I had somebody walk with me. I know I'm in big trouble and should have been more responsible and I'm sorry. But I was perfectly safe, I was at Emily's the whole time." After my long winded explanation it got silent and I stood there, uncomfortable, under my mother's stare before she spoke. "I accept your apology but you are still in trouble. You are grounded for the next week and are not aloud to go anywhere but school and then straight back here. Do you understand?" Huh, that really wasn't as bad as I expected. "Yes ma'am. Um, I'm going to take a shower then go to bed. Night." And with that I ran up the stairs. For the rest of the night I couldn't keep my thoughts off of Embry.


	6. Chapter 6

**Once again Stephanie Meyers owns all of the Twilight characters I just own the plot.**

This week has gone by so slowly. Monday was pretty much the only interesting day all week and that's saying something. Since I got grounded I wasn't able to go over to Emily's to see Embry and when he saw me at school I had to tell him this week wouldn't work because I got in trouble. When I told him the look on his face just about killed me. I'm not sure why but I haven't been able to get him out of my head. When I called Emily after school Tuesday and told her what happened when he walked me home she just told me not to worry about it then said she had to go because she needed to talk to Sam. I was starting to get really desperate for an answer to my question. This whole Embry deal was seriously distracting. I would find myself zoned out in the middle of class just thinking about him.

I am currently sitting in my personal Hell, otherwise known as art class, thinking about how Embry is going to answer that question I asked him. I was so distracted thinking about him I didn't hear , the Satan operating my personal Hell, asking me a question. Oh crap, I have no idea what he said. I quickly turn around to look at Kim for help but find her head on her desk, fast asleep. Some friend she is. I turned back around and asked to repeat the question, which made him get a little angry, and he told me that if I got caught daydreaming again I would be getting a detention. Stupid Satan teacher.

Right after he got done scolding me the bell rang and I shot of my stool like there was fireworks under me. I power walked over to Kim and shook her shoulder lightly. She woke up with a small jump, saw my face, and started asking what she missed when she was asleep. Right when we got out of the room I said, "Some friend you are Kim. I totally got busted because I was daydreaming and my backup was sitting behind me dead! It was so embarrassing. "As soon as the words left my mouth she started laughing and quickly said, "I'm sorry. Really, I am. I just didn't get much sleep last night because Jared and I were... um... b-busy.." Oh my gosh gross! "Kim! Stop, please, I don't want details. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. But why are you just now telling me this! I mean as your best friend I am supposed to know everything that goes down between you guys. Even if it is gross." I laughed as she blushed and walked towards the parking lot with her right next to me. When we made it to the guys outside and Jared came into view her face got so red I thought she was turning into a tomato. I looked up at Jared with a small smirk on my face and I could tell that he knew that I knew their little secret. I started laughing when I noticed he was blushing then said my good byes and walked to my mom's car.

The drive, as always, was quiet but I could tell my mom wasn't mad anymore. When we got home I turned to look at my mom as we stood in the kitchen, trying to muster up some courage. After a few seconds I took a deep breath and Said, "Mom, can I ask you something?" She looked a little confused but motioned for me to continue. " I was wondering, since I haven't broken any rules this week, if I could go to Emily's tonight? Kim's going to be over there and I kind of wanted to hang out for awhile. " I left out the part that I knew Embry was going to be there too and looked at her with pleading eyes. She stood there for a minute, a thoughtful expression on her face, before she said, "I realize that you want to go see your friend tonight. But I'm going to offer you a deal. You stay home with me tonight and then you get ungrounded tomorrow and can go wherever you want. Or you can go over their tonight and then continue to be grounded through next week. The choice is yours." Was my mother being serious? Just in case she isn't I'm just going to pick an option. "Well option 1 sounds pretty good to me. If that's ok with you?" Please be ok with you, please be ok with you. "That's fine with me but when you leave tomorrow I expect more details than 'I just need some air' ok?" Well that was an easy question to answer. "Ok. I promise. I have to call someone real quick." And with that I left my mother standing in the kitchen as I sprinted up the stairs. Once I got in my room I pulled my phone out and called Kim.

She picked up on the third ring but I was talking before she could even say hello. "Kim! You will never guess what just happened!" I was practically screaming into the phone. A small part of me felt guilty knowing most of this excitement was from knowing that I would get to talk to Embry sooner, but I quickly squished that part of my subconscious and waited for her to answer. "Um, I have no idea but it must be pretty important that you have to bust my eardrums," she said as she laughed through the phone. "Well, I was talking to my mom and she agreed to unground me starting tomorrow as long as I stayed home tonight! Which means I can come hang out at the beach with all you guys tomorrow!" I really hoped I wasn't shattering her eardrums. When she answered she had brought up her volume up to match mine. "Seriously?! I'm so happy! I was really hoping you could come! Should I tell Emily or do you want to? You know what I will just tell her when we hang up." Good lord I think she was happier than me. I started laughing before I told her I had to go. She was bummed but I had to get my homework done.

Later that night I went to bed at 9 but I was to excited to actually sleep so I just laid there and thought about Embry. Eventually I got tired and drifted off to sleep but Embry still stayed in my dreams.


	7. Chapter 7

I woke up the next morning to an annoying buzzing sound. I didn't remember turning on my alarm so it can't be that. I rolled over to look at my nightstand and saw my phone vibrating. Who on earth would be calling me at 8:00 in the morning? I groaned and picked up my phone, not bothering to hide my irritation as I answered. "Hello?" "Hey! It's Kim! I was just calling to see what time you wanted to come over to Emily's house today. Or if you wanted to meet us at the beach, you know just small stuff." I sighed and rubbed my forehead before saying, "If it was small stuff why couldn't it have waited until, I don't know, maybe 10:00? No offense but I was having a really good dream. Anyways, I was thinking I would come over at noon and help you guys with the food. Oh! And I have no idea what to wear tonight." To say the least I was proud of myself for actually responding instead of hanging up and going back to bed. "That would be great. As for the clothes, bonfires are normally pretty casual. So I guess just wear jeans and some shirt. I got to go but I will see you in a few hours. Bye!" Good lord that girl was to energetic for her own good.

At this point I was already awake so I rolled out of bed and dragged myself down to the kitchen. I wasn't in the mood for breakfast so I just poured a cup of coffee and looked at the window. I had been so wrapped up in my phone call I hadn't noticed that the sun was out. It felt like I hadn't seen the sun in ages! I decided I would finish my coffee outside and went to sit on the porch. It felt so good to just feel the heat on my skin and the longer I sat there the more I relaxed. I guessed I zoned out because my mother scared nearly scared the living Hell out of me when she sat down on the porch steps. I hadn't even heard her open the door. She didn't say anything, just sat there and tilted her head towards the sun. After a few moments she whispered, "I really have missed this part of leaving Florida." I didn't really know how to respond so I just nodded my head and stood up. I looked back at her and smiled before walking in the house to get ready. It hadn't felt like I was outside for long but I guess I was wrong because when I looked at the clock it read 11:00. Crap! That only gave me like 45 minutes to get ready.

I ran up the stairs and headed straight for my closet. I wasn't really sure what I was going to wear but I just took Kim's advice and aimed for casual. I picked out some soft denim jeans, a red loose T-shirt with a black pocket, and some red converse. As I got dressed I tried to figure out what to do with the rat nest that was my hair. Of all days for me to have a bad hair day it had to be today. I ran a brush through it a few times before I just put it up in a messy pony tail. Honestly, for getting ready in less than an hour I didn't look to bad. I grabbed my phone and headed downstairs to leave.

When I got to the living room I found my mom on the sofa watching TV. "Hey mom, do you think I could borrow the car today? I'm not going far just over to Emily's," I said hoping she wouldn't be doing anything today. "I'm sorry but you will just have to walk. I have to go into town later for a job interview." Of course she did. Now I would have to walk. I knew if I wanted to make it there by noon I would have to leave now. I said goodbye to my mom and started walking towards Emily's house. After what seemed like forever, really only 15 minutes, I reached my destination. I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear before knocking on the door. A few seconds later Paul opened the door and started laughing as I walked through the door way. "So, how does it feel to get your freedom back? I bet being locked up in your house was just awful," he said and started laughing harder as I rolled my eyes. I walked into the kitchen and said hi to Kim and hugged Emily. Then I hollered back, "For your information, it was horrible. Not everybody sneaks out of there house every night when they're grounded." This earned me a guilty look from Paul and a few laughs from the girls. Just as we had started to get things out to make some potato salad, all of the boys walked through the door. And the person who has been the obsession of my dreams for the past five days stood across the room for me. I have no idea why but when I saw Embry standing there I was almost _relieved_ to see him. Yep, it's official, I have lost my mind. Sam voice finally broke me out of my thoughts. "Hey girls. We just wanted to stop by and tell you guys we were headed to the beach early. We will see you all down there later. Oh and Violet, nice work breaking out of the house." I blushed when he said this making the boys laugh and Emily hit him with a dish towel. She smiled at him as he kissed her cheek and turned to leave. Just as they were all about to walk out the door I remembered the question I had asked Embry. "Hey, Embry, wait a second! Do you have an answer to that question I asked you?" He looked a little panicked for a moment before Sam looked at him and whispered something. "Um, yeah, I do. But I think it would be better if I told you later," he said to me looking a little embarrassed. A smiled at him and said ok before turning back to cutting potatoes. After the boys left it was quiet for about 10 seconds before Kim squealed, "What was that all about? Are you blushing!? And what question were you talking about?" I just stared at her for a second before I felt kind of bad. I had forgotten to tell my best friend about my crush and now she was in full investigation mode.

"Ok, Kim, I promise to tell you if you calm down. And you can't freak out either." I stared at her a moment with an eyebrow raised to make sure she knew I was serious. When I didn't say anything she just nodded her head. I let out a big sigh before telling her the story about Embry and me the other night. After being silent for maybe 15 seconds she let out another loud squeal and started jumping up and down. I had no idea why she was so happy so I just said, "Kim! You promised. Now please calm down and tell me why you're so excited." She took a deep breath and started talking to Emily while I finished the third bowl of potato salad. "I'm so happy for Embry! And Violet too. Do you think she is going to take the news well?" she asked Emily who nodded her head and smiled. I was beyond lost by now and went to the bathroom to let them finish their gossip session. When I came out Emily was wrapping everything up, getting it ready to put in the car. I helped them load the food into the back of the car before we headed down to the beach.

When we got there the boys had gotten the fire set up, so they would just have to light it later. There were logs all around it for places to sit and long plastic tables lined up a few feet away. We started unloading all the food trying to keep the boys out of it before the elders arrived. After we got all of it unloaded Emily told the boys to go entertain themselves elsewhere. At that they jogged down the beach tossing a football and shoving each other as they went. I went over to sit on one of the logs and watch the sun start setting when I heard a few trucks pull up. I guess that would be the elders. About five older men started to walk towards us and I stood up so I could introduce myself. An older man with longer grey hair, in a wheelchair rolled over towards me. "You must be Violet. My son, Jacob, told me about you moving back down here. I'm Billy by the way." He shook my hand and I smiled at him, liking how friendly he was. I finished introducing myself to everybody and turned when I heard the guys running back towards us. They said hi to everyone and then headed straight for the food table. By the time I got up there to get some food there was almost nothing left. I don't think I will ever get used to how much these people ate.

Once it was dark enough and all of the food was pretty much gone, Sam started the fire. I went and sat on the log that Emily and Sam were at and enjoyed the heat from the fire. After it got really quiet Billy started to talk. Apparently this was also a chance to share legends about the tribes history. Billy was such a good story teller I found myself slowly getting absorbed in the story he was telling. He had just finished talking about how the tribe somehow descended from wolves when he moved on to another legend. "The last legend I will be sharing tonight is the legend of imprinting. Imprinting is basically what happens when one of the pack members finds their soul mate. The person they imprinted on is now their reason for living. They are that persons other half. When somebody imprints they look into another person's eyes and it is like their whole world stops..." He kept on talking but I could no longer hear any of his words. My head snapped up to look over at Embry he had a small blush on his face and was staring at me. OH MY GOD!


	8. Chapter 8

Wolves. Imprinting. Everything was starting to click into place. Like, when Emily was always making up excuses for Sam when he was "busy". Or how Kim was always practically hanging off of Jared. My heart rate picked up a little as more thoughts raced through my head. Why couldn't they have just told me? I mean it would have saved a lot of trouble. I was practically on the verge of hyperventilating and didn't really want everybody to see me freak out. I leaned over to Emily and whispered, "I'm going for a walk." I didn't wait for a response just stood up and started walking down towards an empty part of the beach, but not before I saw a concerned look on her face.

The farther down the beach I walked the more tears I felt build up in my eyes. I wasn't sure why I was reacting like this. I mean Embry was a really nice guy and everything, I just hadn't come here looking for a commitment. Right as I thought this a light turned on in my mind. Bingo. I was upset because I didn't want commitment. That word was truly horrifying for me. Because it meant you had to be attached to somebody. And with attachment came worry, and I had had enough worry to last the rest of my life. I was also upset because I knew I couldn't fight this. Knew I didn't want to. And this could only end up with me getting hurt. Once I was far enough I could no longer see anything but the ocean I sat down. Once I had tucked my legs underneath me I started to cry. At first it was just a few tears but after a few minutes my body started to shake and the tears were now a constant stream.

I thought I heard somebody walking towards me but I didn't really care. A few seconds later I felt someone sit down text to me in the sand. I knew it wasn't Kim or Emily because the person was to huge. I slowly looked up, tears stilling running down my face, to see Embry looking down at me. He looked like it almost was hurting him because I was crying, but I just couldn't stop. "I'm really sorry I couldn't tell you until now..." he whispered, trailing off a little at he end. I just shook my head and took a deep breath. He had shared his secret, now it was time to sell mine. "You d-don't need to apologize E-Embry. But thank you anyways. I need to say sorry too though. I really didn't mean to react this way. I... I just needed to think about some things. I'm not upset because your a wolf or that you imprinted on me. You can't do anything about that. I just didn't come here to get attached to anybody this way. I know that sounds stupid but I think I have a good explanation. I know you heard me bring up the accident that night at Emily's. It happened almost a year ago, on April 7. My birthday was a week away so my dad and my little sister, Clover, went into town to get me a gift. They had said they were going to be right back, they just had to go pick something up and come back. About an hour had gone by when my mom got a call from the police station saying that they needed her to meet them at the station. I stayed home and waited but my dad never came back. About 2 hours my walked into the house. her eyes red and puffy, and said she needed to talk to me. That was the last night my mom had a real conversation with me. Unless you count the fight we had the other day. The reason I'm telling you this is so you know why I didn't want a commitment. Because anytime I get deeply attached to people they leave..."my voice finally gave out and I started crying again. I felt Embry shift a little before he lifted me into his lap. I didn't even question it, I just leaned into him and cried. Every now and then he would whisper reassuring words in my ear or rub my back. It took a few minutes to calm down but once I did Embry shifted me so I was looking up at him. I didn't really want to look at him right now, I was to embarrassed, so I looked down at the sand. "Hey,It's ok to cry you know. You don't have to be ashamed that you let someone talk to you," he said lifting my head up so I met his eyes. "I don't want you to ever worry about me leaving you. I can promise you that isn't going to happen. _Ever._ So please don't worry about. It's my job to make sure your happy and you aren't ever going to be happy if your worrying yourself to death, ok? And I am also going to promise you that we will take this slow. I'm not going to make either of us rush into something we aren't ready for." I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was being honest and it made my heart swell with happiness. I just nodded my head and smiled at him. I laid my head back on his chest and just breathed in his scent.

While we were sitting there, well I was almost half way asleep, I saw a flashlight beaming into he darkness. I sat up a little bit and was about to get up when Embry pulled me back into his lap. He laughed a little before saying, "Don't worry. It's just Emily. She knows I came down here to talk to you." I just said ok and laid my head back on his chest. When Emily finally got over to us her face instantly filled with relief. She pulled me up from Embry's lap and gave me a really tight hug. "Are you ok? I really wanted to come after you myself but Sam wouldn't let me." I laughed a little and hugged her back before answering. "I'm fine. I just needed some space at the moment." I walked back over to Embry and we headed up the beach to go home. When we got back up to the fire pit I saw that almost everybody had left. Well that was a relief, I wouldn't have people staring at me. The only people left were Sam, Kim, and Jared. Kim walked over to me and gave me a hugged, telling me to call her tomorrow, and then left with Jared. Sam asked if I needed a ride back home but Embry said he had it covered. I said goodbye and walked over to his old Chevy pick up truck. He helped me up into the passenger side and the started driving toward my house. On the way there I just sat there and stared at him. He was really handsome. I just hoped he didn't find it creepy I was eyeballing him. He parked the truck next to my mom's car and turned to look at me. He smiled and kissed my forehead before he got out to open my door. Now that I was home I really didn't want him to go. He walked me up to the front door and we said goodbye before he walked back to his truck and I headed into the kitchen. I saw a note on the table and picked it up. "Violet, I was going to wait up for you, but had a long day and went to bed. Hope you had a good time with your friend Kim and Emily. See you in the morning, mom." Well at least she left a note. In my book that was progress.

I headed up stairs and smiled to myself as I got ready for bed. I really felt like this thing with Embry was going to work out. And he made feel so safe, so happy, that I knew I could trust him. I crawled in bed, still smiling, and let myself drift to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Forgot to do this on my other chapter. Ooops. But I do not own anything from Twilight.**

About one week has gone by since the bonfire incident. I had been hanging out with Embry more, in and outside of school. We hadn't talked about our relationship, more specifically what kind of relationship we wanted, but I wasn't to worried. I had a bigger problem and it was approaching fast. It was the last day of March, and I knew that only gave me a week until the one year mark was here. Everyday that passed a little more anxiety would take over a part of me and it was starting to make me jumpy. I was mostly dreading it because I didn't need any kind of reminder that my family members were gone, but also because of my mom. I had no idea what kind of shape she would be in. It was Wednesday and I was currently sitting in lunch picking at what looked kind of like meatloaf. Embry sat down next to me and looked a little nervous. I asked him what was up since nobody else was at the table yet. "Well, um, I was kind of wondering if... if you want to go out Friday after school?" he stuttered through the entire thing and I was trying not to laugh. After all we had been through on the beach and we was nervous about asking me on a date? I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as I said, "Sure. I would love to." His answering smile was dazzling and it almost made me a little dizzy. Nobody should be this gorgeous., but Embry definitely was. Sometimes life really isn't fair. Kim and Jared soon came over to join us and she raised an eyebrow at me, knowing the boys wouldn't know what she meant. But I knew perfectly, she was asking me what she had missed. I knew I would have to tell her, I just hopped I could make it through the school day. I didn't feel like hearing her squealing down the hallway asking for details. I just nodded my head before talking about the project we had to do for biology.

After gym class was over I started walking to the most hated class of the day. Art. Ugh, just thinking the word made me want to puke. I heard Kim telling me to slow down so I stopped right in front of the doorway and waited for her to catch up. "Hey! Did you really think you would get by so easy? What was all that blushing about at lunch today? I mean it's really easy to make Embry blush but I have never seen you blush. _Never."_ I stared at her for a second. I hadn't even realized I had been blushing. Oh my God, that's embarrassing. "Well, I hadn't noticed I was blushing. Anyways Embry asked me to go out with him. It was almost funny the way he stumbled through he whole thing." I looked up at Kim, surprised when she didn't start jumping around, to find her beaming at me. This time when I blushed I was very aware of it. I turned and walked into art just as the bell rang and sat down. As usual I struggled through the class period and wanted to cry when the teacher said we would be taking a test on all of the materials we have learned so far. Fat chance of me passing that. When the last bell rang I sulked my way back to my locker. "Come on, you can't be that bad with the materials. I can help you study if you want." Oh Kim, if only you knew. "No, it's no use. I will just hope I get higher than a zero." I said before I walked out to the parking lot. Embry was waiting by his truck to take me home. I had convinced my mom to let me get a ride from him after school since she was busy at her new job. We had been doing this for about a week and it was working out pretty good for me.

Embry smiled at me and helped me into the truck before he shouted a goodbye to the other guys. We were just making small talk on the way to my house when I asked, "So, where were you thinking of taking me to Friday?" I could tell he hadn't expected this question, but his confused expression then turned into a knowing smirk. "Well I figured that it would be a surprise. I know how you feel about surprises but just trust me on this ok?" he asked laughing at the expression on my face. I hated surprises with a passion. I'm not sure why, it was just some sort of gene I inherited I guess. I just nodded my head and smiled. Right when we turned on my street I got a text from my mom saying, "I am going to work a longer shift tonight. I won't be home until late. There is some leftover chicken in the fridge. Have a good night, mom." I smiled at this and turned to look at Embry. When he put the truck in park I reached over and unbuckled his seatbelt. He gave me an unreadable look, between amused and curious, before I explained. "My mom is working late tonight, so I want you to stay for awhile. It can get a little lonely by myself." He smiled and jumped out of the truck and then walked with me up to the porch. I unlocked the door and let him in before me so I could put the key back under the welcome mat. Once I closed the door I realized I didn't really know what to say to him. I blushed a little and took my shoes off before leading him into the kitchen. I figured he was probably hungry, because we eats constantly, so I walked over to the fridge to see if we actually had any food. The only thing I saw was the chicken I was going to eat for dinner and some pickles. I picked up the jar and turned to him with raised eyebrows. When he saw the jar he made this face like had just eaten something very sour, and I started laughing. So no pickles, I would have to remember that. "Well that was all I got. Would you mind if we went by the grocery store to pick up a few things? You know so you don't starve in my care." He started laughing and just said, "Ha ha, very funny. I don't mind and you can drive if you want." I smiled up at him , ran up the stairs to get some money, and then ran back down to put my shoes on. He was laughing at me the whole time but I was to excited to care. I missed getting to drive, and was currently looking for a car I could afford. I had told Embry about how much I loved driving the other day so he knew it would make me happy if he offered I guess. I was also kind of honored. Even though his truck is a little beat up he never lets anybody else drive it. Ever. So, yeah, I felt a little special. It was only about a 7 minute drive to the super market and we were there in no time.

We walked into the store and Embry grabbed a shopping basket. I grabbed another one, just in case, because I knew that only one could fill up very quickly. He just shook his head at me as we started walking down some of the isles. I didn't know what kind of food he liked, probably anything edible, so I let him fill up his basket while I filled mine. I had been shopping enough times to know what my mother and I will both eat so it only took me a few minutes to pick some things out. This way she wouldn't have to worry about buying food for dinner the next few nights. I went to find Embry and saw him in the breakfast isle. I went to join him and saw he had three boxes of Fruit Loops in his hands. I laughed and took one from him to put it back on the shelf. "As much as I love cereal, I don't eat it enough to need three boxes." He blushed a little and smiled at me. After about 10 more minutes of shopping we went to checkout. After all the food was bagged we headed back to the truck. I let him drive back to the house, not trusting him to hold the food. When we got back we headed to the kitchen to put everything away. I ended up just leaving the food that didn't need to be refrigerated on the counter, and poured us each a bowl of cereal. It took Embry about 2 minutes to eat the entire bowl and I had only taken about 4 bites. He want to the sink and rinsed his bowl out then came to sit next to me while I ate. We talked for about an hour before we got on the topic of school. Right now I was washing dishes and ranting about my upcoming art test. "I mean, it's not like I'm ever going to use any of this crap in everyday life. I won't need to know which painter did which picture, or sculpture, or anything that has to do with art. I didn't even want to take art in the first place but I needed an extra class to fill up my schedule so they just put me down for art. I bet they wouldn't have if they had seen me try to draw something!" I was huffing out my sentences letting my frustration out. I was still worried about that test though. I wouldn't be surprised if this one test would bring my entire grade down to an F. I had to give Embry credit though, he was an amazing listener and didn't seem to care that I was getting worked up over something stupid. After I was finished and had calmed down a little I knew he probably needed to get home soon, so I stood up and walked over to where he was sitting. "As much as I don't want you to, you probably need to head home. I wouldn't want you in hot water with your mom." I gave him a smile and playfully tugged on his arm, knowing I wouldn't be able to actually pull him out of the chair. "Yeah, I guess your right. Even though I'm still in hot water with my mom, so I don't think it would matter. I will see you tomorrow, bye." And with a smile he turned and left, but I stood in the doorway watching him drive off before I shut the door. I went into the kitchen to put up the groceries before heating up my dinner.

The rest of my night was uneventful. The only thing I did was study for art, hoping somehow the information would magically absorb into my brain. But I had no such luck. After 3 hours of studying I decided to call it a night and go to bed. Even though I had spent the majority of the night torturing myself with homework I was still in a good mood. I crawled into bed, smiling, knowing that this good mood was because of Embry. I felt myself slowly drift asleep, my thoughts turning into dreams as I settled in for the night.


	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own Twilight. Or the characters.**

It was Friday afternoon and no matter how many times I asked Embry where we were going he would just shake his head or tell me I would know soon enough. It was really frustrating but I was getting more excited as the day went by. I was practically bouncing out of my seat when the last bell rang. I quickly grabbed my stuff from my locker and rushed to the parking lot. I hadn't even waited for Kim but was to happy to feel guilty. I knew Embry always left his truck unlocked, which I found odd since he wouldn't let anybody drive it, so I hopped in and waited for him to come outside. It took him about 5 minutes and when he saw me already in the truck he started laughing. As he opened the door he said, "Somebody's anxious today. I wonder why that would be." "I think it might be because someone who just got in this truck won't tell me where he is taking me on a date tonight, and I would really, really like to know." I was hoping my pouting would work but it was probably a long shot. I had been trying to get information out of him for the last 2 days. "Oh no. Don't try pouting on me. As cute as you look doing that your not going to get anything from me. You only have to wait a few more hours and then you will get your answer." I smiled before I said, "You have a habit of not telling me things until the last minute." He laughed and we sat in a comfortable silence on the way to my house. When we got there he kissed my cheek and told me he would be back to pick me up at 6. I walked in the house and saw my mom in the living room. "Hey, I didn't know that you were off tonight. You been home long?" She had been working so much I had hardly seen her. "I have just worked a lot of hours and wanted a break, so I took the day off. I have only been home for about 3 hours." She smiled up at me and I actually didn't feel uncomfortable with her right now. I would say this was some progress. I just smiled back, said ok, and went up to my room. I had no idea what to wear to the mystery date, so I decided to call Kim.

"Hey Kim! Oh, before I get to why I'm actually calling, I wanted to say sorry for leaving you in art. But anyways, what do you think I should wear for my date tonight?" She sat on the line for a second, thinking about my question probably, before saying, "First, apology accepted. Second, wear something casual but it has to still be flirty. Don't go for anything to sexy, never a good idea on a fist date. Did that help at all? I would have suggested something more specific but I don't know where you are going." I nodded my head, even though she couldn't see me, and we talked for a few minutes before I told her I was going to get ready. I pulled out some floral printed jeans, a blue denim button up shirt, and a pair of tan colored, heeled, ankle length boots. I brushed out my hair before pulling it up in a tight bun on top of my head, and headed downstairs. I found my mom in the kitchen trying to find something to make for dinner. She was never the best cook, my dad normally handled dinner, when he died I took over most nights. I had told her yesterday that I was going out so she would know she was on her own for the night. She looked a little lost so I came up behind her and pulled out a package of spinach. She gave me a look, I knew she wasn't huge on spinach, but I just waved her out of the kitchen. I might as well help her out, she was working now and trying to start up some conversation, so I felt it was the least I could do. Next I pulled out strawberries, tomatoes, and poppy seed dressing. After I had all of that set out on the counter I pulled some pecans out of one of the kitchen cabinets. I pulled out a large bowl, a cutting board and knife, then started cutting up the strawberries. After I had everything cut up and placed in the bowl with the spinach I added a few pecans to the top of the salad and put it in the fridge. I left the dressing out on the counter knowing my mom didn't like it when it was to cold. I walked into the living room and sat down on the couch with her. "You have dinner ready in the fridge. Don't add to much dressing to it and it should be fine. I hope you don't mind that I'm going out tonight." One of the reasons I was saying this was because I really did feel bad for leaving her alone but I also felt a little guilty. I hadn't told my mother about Embry yet. It's not like I was ashamed of him, I just had a feeling my mom wouldn't like him very much. "Of course not. You go out and have fun. I will probably just be going to bed early anyways." I said goodbye and walked out onto the front porch. I stood out there for about 5 minutes before I saw Embry's truck pull up. I smiled, pushing my mother out of my brain for right now, and walked down the driveway. I got in the truck and waited to see where he was taking me.

We drove for a little while, I think we passed Emily's road but wasn't sure, and then stopped in a sand lot. The view was breath taking, the sun just starting to get low in the sky and the big cliffs with the waves crashing against them. He went to the bed of his truck and pulled out a picnic basket and a blanket. I laughed at him as he put the blanket in the sand and set down the basket. "So, was it worth the wait?" I shook my head and sat down on the blanket. "It's perfect. The view is amazing." I looked over at him to see him staring at me and blushed. We unpacked the food, sandwiches and a wrapped up bowl filled with cherries, and started to eat. "So, I noticed that there weren't any pickles in that basket. I mean, every picnic has to have pickles," I laughed at his face. "Seriously, what is the deal with you and this hatred for pickles?" This made him laugh and he elaborated, "When I was around the age of, like, 7 my mom had taken me to this carnival thing. I hadn't been feeling well but wanted to go anyway. So, after being there for maybe an hour we stopped to get some food. I had never tried pickles before so my mom got me one of those really big dill pickles on a stick. After 2 bites I got sick all over the place. My mom was horrified and I felt like crap. And that is why I don't like pickles." I was trying to hold in my laughter as I ate a cherry when I got an idea. "Well as tragic a story that was, I think that I can change your mind. Come on." I stood up and dusted some stray sand off of my pants. He looked confused and said, "What? There is no way you are going to get me to eat a pickle." Oh, so now he was challenging me. "Ok, you're on. Now come on, get up. It's my turn to take you somewhere." I tugged on his hand for emphasis. He chuckled, stood up, and started to pack up our picnic. "I'm just warning you, don't scratch the truck." "Oh, come on. I've driven it before. Now get in and keep you eyes closed until we get there.

It took me a few minutes to find my way back to the main road, but when I did it didn't take long to get to my destination. I was winning this bet, and I was going to do it right now. I made him keep his eyes closed and guided him out of the truck. Right when we were in front of the door I told him to open his eyes. He started laughing and said, "What on Earth are we doing at the super market?" I just smirked at him and told him, "You'll see." I took his hand and led him to the isle that held the pickles. When we reached it he just looked at me for a second. "You were serious about that bet?" Well duh. Like I would agree if I thought I was going to lose. "I was dead serious. You know, it would be a shame if some of the boys were to find out about your little pickle story." I knew I was bluffing, but Embry didn't. His eyes widened and he shook his head. "Grab a jar and lets get this over with. And by the way, blackmail is _not_ a nice way to win a bet." If only he knew I had no intention of telling them, but I would share this with him after he ate one of these pickles. I paid for the jar and walked out of the store. I climbed into the bed of the truck, or tried to, when Embry came up behind me and lifted me the rest of the way. I laughed and thanked him. He got in and sat down next to me, taking up most of the space, and I opened the jar. "Just asking, because I'm curious, but why is it so important that I eat a pickle?" "Because I made a bet with you and I am going to win. I never lose." I knew that he saw the determined look on my face because he just shook his head and grabbed a pickle out of the jar. I sat back a little bit, in case he didn't like it and spit it out. He bit off half of it and chewed slowly. He didn't make the face he normally makes, but turned to me with a look of defeat. He swallowed, then said, "Alright. You win. That actually wasn't that bad." I smiled at him knowing my winning streak lived on. "See I told you. Pickles are amazing. Now, on to the important business. What did I win?" A thoughtful look crossed his face and he leaned towards my head and whispered, "Do you trust me?" I nodded my head, a little confused, before he turned his head and kissed me. I was to stunned to move, but my brain quickly caught up with me and I was kissing him back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, while his warm hands circled around my waist. After what seemed like hours we finally pulled away from each other, both of us breathing heavy. What had felt like hours was really only a few minutes, so I curled up into his side and watched the sun set in front of us.

When it started to get windy out we got back in the truck. He drove me back home and wouldn't stop touching me the entire time. It was subtle, I almost didn't notice at first, but after awhile I became more aware of them. He would hold my hand, or rest it on my knee. At one point he had one arm around me while I leaned into his chest. When we reached my house I turned and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before hopping out of his truck. I turned to wave and then ran up to the door. I walked inside, trying to be quiet so I wouldn't wake up my mom. I went upstairs and texted Kim before I got ready for bed. I knew it was a little obsessive, but I already wanted to see Embry again. It was like when he wasn't right next to me I felt, almost, lost. I shook my head at myself and climbed into bed.


	11. Chapter 11

**I do not own any of the Twilight characters.**

After my date on Friday the rest the weekend went by slowly. The only interesting thing was that my mom went out somewhere on Saturday and came back like she had just won the lottery. This was very abnormal behavior for her, but I was just glad she was happy. That was some sort of progress, but I was still keeping an eye on her. I wanted to know what was making her so happy, because I knew it wasn't me.

It was Wednesday night and tomorrow would be the one year mark, and an understatement would be saying I was dreading it. My mom went to bed around 9 tonight because she had get up early for work. I didn't know why she wanted to work all day tomorrow, the thought of school made me want to cry. I knew I wasn't going to get a goodnights sleep but I headed upstairs anyways. I knew I had been acting a little agitated all week because everybody kept asking if something was wrong. The only response I gave them was a simple no and then walked the other direction. I turned my alarm on and slid under my covers. I closed my eyes but sleep didn't come. A part of me was glad knowing that if I didn't sleep I wouldn't have to dream about the accident. I think it was around 3 o'clock when I finally fell into a fitful sleep, filled with unpleasant dreams.

I slowly opened my eyes when I heard the sound of my alarm going off. My body felt like lead and I didn't want to get up. It would be so easy to just stay in bed and avoid the world, my problems especially, and just go to sleep. So that's what I did. I rolled over, turned my alarm clock off, and burrowed into my covers. I knew the school would call and my mom would know that I wasn't sick, but I didn't care. Let them, I thought, as I stared at my wall trying to keep thoughts of my dad and sister at bay. If I didn't think of them then I could survive the day and be able to go to school tomorrow and act like today never happened. I was starting to drift off to sleep when I heard my phone buzz. I sat up and grabbed it off of the nightstand to answer it. My mom's voice came from the other end of the line. "I realize that today was going to be hard for you but you really should have gone to school. We will talk more about that later, but right now I want you to make your day off as useful as possible. Go downstairs and get the laundry and the dishes done please. I will see you tonight, bye." I was actually glad for the list of chores, it would keep me busy and they didn't involve interaction with anybody. I knew this mood would pass with the day but I just didn't feel like talking right now. I dragged myself out of bed so I could get ready for the day. I put on some leggings and a long sleeved grey sweater then walked to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and thought that I really could have said I was sick because I looked awful. My face was pale, I had huge dark circles under my eyes, and looked like I could pass out from exhaustion at any moment. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and then French braided my hair. I slowly trudged down the stairs to the laundry room. I put in a load of towels and then went to start on the dishes. Right when I was about to load the dishwasher I got a text. It was from Kim and said, "Hey. Where are you today? Are you sick, do you feel bad? Text me back." I knew she was just worried about me but I wasn't quite ready to talk to anyone. I just sent her a quick text and told her that I would be at school tomorrow, then I finished the dishes and went to watch TV. This was how I spent my morning.

I had just sat back down on the couch when there was a knock on the door. It was only 12 o'clock so it couldn't be anyone I knew. I walked over to the door and slowly opened it, being cautious just in case it was some crazy person. I was shocked to find Embry standing in front of me, a worried look on his face. "What are you doing here, aren't you supposed to be at school?" I asked, even though both of us were supposed to be there right now. "No, I am supposed to be here with you. So I left a few minutes ago. You look like Hell by the way." Well the first part of that was sweet. "Gee thanks. That is exactly what every girl wants to hear. Since you clearly aren't going back to school come on in." He walked through the door, grabbed my hand, and tugged me to the couch. He sat down and I curled up in his lap, feeling very tired all of a sudden. I felt tears fill my eyes and was trying hard to fight them off. I had managed to avoid crying all day and didn't want to start the waterworks in front of Embry.

My attempt was useless though. The tears started to fall over the rims of my eyes and a few seconds later I had a steady stream of them flowing down my face. Embry didn't say anything, just held me into him while rubbing my back. I was trying to calm down but it was no use. Part of me didn't want to stop crying though, it felt good to have somebody comforting me. I sat there for probably an hour before I didn't have any tears left to cry. I heard Embry's soft voice say, "Are you ok?" I nodded my head and looked up at his face. His eyes always had a calming effect on me so I just stared at him and felt myself become more relaxed. I leaned my forehead on his and closed my eyes. He lifted me off of the couch and we walked into the kitchen. Understanding what he was hinting at, I walked over to the fridge and pulled out some chicken salad. We talked while we ate our late lunch and I felt significantly better by the time we were done eating. It was around 4 and Embry had to get home soon so he kissed me and left. I finished some more laundry before laying on the couch.

I woke up to the sound of a door shutting. I hadn't realized I had fallen asleep. I turned to see my mom closing her umbrella and taking off of her shoes. I sat up and rubbed some leftover sleep from my eyes. "Hey, what time is it?" My mom looked at her watch before saying, "It is 6:30. Would you please come to the kitchen with me?" I stood up and followed her, knowing I was probably going to be in trouble for skipping today. I sat down and waited for her to start up the conversation. "I would like to know why you felt it was important that you skipped school today." Well I thought that was obvious. "Um, I didn't feel like going, or talking to anybody." My mom nodded her head looking deep in thought. Now that I was looking at her she didn't look like she had cried today at all. Either she was learning how to deal with her grief better or she had put on fresh make up. "Well, as you know, sometimes we have to do things no matter how much we don't want to. I understand how you felt today but how about next time you at least ask before just skipping. You are not allowed to leave the house to hang out with friends until your birthday next week. And also, I will be driving you to school for the remainder of the year, or until you get a car." I nodded my head, not in the mood to argue with her tonight, and got up to go unplug my phone. I started texting Kim on the way to my room to tell her why I hadn't been at school. She was worried about me but was glad that Embry had come to check on me. The more I thought about the conversation my mother had with me the more I felt like something was wrong. She seemed to, I don't know, _calm._ Normally she would have been freaking out. She was hiding something from me and I intended to find out what it was.


	12. Chapter 12

**I do not own the Twilight series or any characters.**

After I got grounded the week that followed was extremely boring. The car rides with my mom were pretty bearable though, with her new found good mood. School was uneventful and I ended up getting a D on that stupid art test. Which my mom wasn't happy about so I got my phone taken away until my birthday. I understand why she was upset but I don't think I needed my phone taken away. Not that it made much of a difference now since my birthday was tomorrow. Emily and Kim were going out of their way to throw a party for me. It was at Emily's house tomorrow and my mom, the pack, and some other friends I have made are coming. I have no idea how she is going to have room for everybody. I also plan on telling my mother about Embry. I figured that if I was in a public place and he was there with me there would be a less likely chance she would freak out.

I was currently walking back to my house, since my friends weren't allowed to take me anywhere until tomorrow, trying not to drown in rain. I was really hoping that I wasn't going to get sick walking in this weather. I finally made it home and tried to shake of most of the rain before going inside. My mom wasn't home but I thought I heard something upstairs. I just wrote it off but told myself to stay downstairs. I went into the kitchen and made some coffee so I could stop shaking so much. I held the warm cup in my hands letting my fingers defrost. When I was putting my cup in the sink I heard another thud from upstairs and started to get a little scared. So I did the dumbest thing ever and walked upstairs to where the sound was coming from. I stopped at the top of the stairs and listened for any noises. After a few seconds I didn't hear anything so I walked in my room to change. I kicked my shoes off and put my socks in my hamper. When I turned around to get a dry shirt I almost peed myself. Embry was standing next to my window, rain dripping off of his hair, smiling at me. "Embry!" I shrieked. "How did you get in my house? Jesus. You scared the hell out of me." He started laughing and said, "I climbed up a tree and came in through your window. I didn't mean to scare you. Being part wolf has some advantages." I just shook my head and told him to go get a towel from the bathroom to dry his hair with. While he was doing that I quickly changed into a grey shirt and white sweat pants.

He came back in my room with his hair somewhat dry and had a shirt on. I raised an eyebrow at him wondering where he got the shirt from. "I had it in my truck. You didn't think I walked here did you?" I blushed and nodded while he laughed at me. I needed to dry my hair but instead I walked over and gave him a hug. I have never in my life appreciated his abnormal body heat more in my life. I put my chin on his chest so he could lean down and kiss me. What started off as a gentle kiss quickly turned into something more. His lips moved a little forcefully against mine and his hands roughly grabbed my hips, but I didn't mind. He walked us backwards until my back was on the wall next to my window and my hands tangled in his hair. Suddenly I heard the front door shut and pulled away enough to catch my breath. I gasped out, "My mom's home." I guess he saw the look of terror on my face because he was trying to calm me down he entire trip down the stairs. I was holding his hand when we walked into the kitchen. My mom had her back to us when we walked in so I just stood there for a second. Then I remembered that I wasn't supposed to have friends over. Oh, no. I'm screwed.

My mom turned around and nearly dropped all of the mail she was holding. "Oh, I didn't know you had company over. Hi, I'm Laura." She shook Embry's hand and smiled, but I could hear the question in her voice. "Um, mom, this is Embry. He... um.. he...well he's my boyfriend." I was blushing by the end of my sentence and my mom looked like she was struggling to contain her anger. I knew this was going to happen. "Well, that's nice Violet. I hate to be rude Embry, but Violet and I have a few things to discuss." Did she just kick him out? He was my only backup. Now I really was screwed. He looked down at me before saying, "Of course. I will see you tomorrow." When he left I just stood there, to afraid to look my mom in the face. Really the only reason she has to be mad for is the fact that I hid Embry from her. It's not like I lied though, right? I just hid the truth. "Violet, would you like to share with me what all of this is about?" What did that mean? It's pretty self-explanatory. "Um, you just met my boyfriend?" It came out more like a question and my mom didn't really like that answer. "Obviously. That was not what I meant. What I was really asking about was why was I just now finding out about this? I can't believe you would lie to me!" Why was she yelling, it's not like I killed anybody. "Um, I mean I didn't lie, I just didn't tell you. And I didn't tell you because I knew you would act like this. Why is it such a big deal that I have a boyfriend anyways? You are acting like it is the end of the world that he was here with me." I was really curious about her answer. She didn't even hesitate to answer right after I had finished talking and what she said next nearly ripped my heart out. "Because a lot of trouble can come from relationships like this. They never last and you will either end up hurt, pregnant, or both! Trust me I would know!" Right when the words left her mouth she got really pale. It took me about 2 seconds to connect the dots, but I still had to ask. "What do you mean? Are you saying that dad wasn't really _my_ dad?! How could you never tell me this!" I was beyond furious but I knew behind my anger was a growing mountain of sadness. Why would she have lied to me about that? She stayed silent and I knew it was true. "Well I'm sorry for ruining your life! But guess what? You've done a pretty bang up job and ruining mine too!" I was so disgusted with my mom right now that I wanted to be nowhere near her. I put on my converse and slammed the door. I was crying by the time I stepped off of the porch. I could barely see where I was going but knew the road by heart.

I was soaked and nearly hyperventilating by the time I reached Emily's house. I swung the door open and stumbled my way through the door way. All of my anger was gone but know there was just this hollow feeling that took up the love I had kept for my mother. All of the boys were sitting at the kitchen table and Emily and Kim were on the couch. They all snapped their heads towards me and Embry looked mad. I guess he figured out that the "chat" my mom and I had didn't go very well. "Did you know Emily? Did she ever tell you?" I probably sounded crazy, but I wasn't really thinking straight. Everyone looked confused and Embry stood up from his chair. Emily just looked lost and asked, "Violet, who are you talking about? Are you ok? Does your mom know your here?" That last question made a bitter laugh escape my mouth. "It's not like she would care. but I'm assuming she didn't tell you either. Well, she is really good at lying to people isn't she?" My crying had slowed down but my breathing was really starting to hurt. I really hoped I wasn't having some kind of panic attack. "What has she lied about?" Emily looked like she was trying to think of something but coming up blank. "My dad! She lied about my dad. Except I can't say that anymore because he was never really my dad!" My crying had come back full force at this point and everybody in the room had horrified looks on their faces. Embry slowly walked over to me and tried to grab my hand. I pushed it away but fell into him, crying in his chest. I had so many thoughts running through my head I was starting to get a migraine. Embry picked me up and sat down on the couch with me in his lap. Emily was trying to get the soaked pieces of hair of my face and attempting to calm me down. "Violet. Hey, your ok. I need you to calm down for me. Can you do that?" I just shook my head because when I tried to talk no words would come out of my mouth. Between my crying, harsh breathing, and the fact that I was soaked in cold rain, I was shaking and my head was pounding now. It felt like every second that passed the more painful it got to breath. My vision started to get really blurry and I swayed a little in Embry's lap. He got a firm grip on me and tried to sit me up straight. Right when I was placed upright I started coughing and it caused my lungs to hurt and my breath to come in short gasps. I could hear someone talking really fast but I wasn't really sure what they were saying or who they were. The last thing I saw was the panicked look on Embry's face. Then I blacked out.


	13. Chapter 13

**I Do not own any of the Twilight characters. P.S. I bet you guys didn't see that plot twist coming. Anyways, on to the story.**

I knew the minute I woke up that I was sick. My throat was burning, my head pounding, and I couldn't breath through my nose. I tried to sit up but my head started pounding in protest, so I laid back down. I didn't know where I was, or how long I had been asleep, and was starting to get confused. I couldn't remember what I had done yesterday, or whenever the last time I was awake was. Then I heard voices coming from the other side of the door. It was Emily and my mother and it sounded like they were fighting about something. "Emily, she is my daughter and I want to see her." "Well at the moment everybody here doesn't want you near her. You have already caused enough damage, I mean she has been asleep for almost 2 days." I tuned out the rest of the conversation as memories of the other night came back to me. The fight with my mom, learning the truth about my dad, and most importantly blacking out on the couch. As all of this started coming back to me I started to panic. I wasn't ready to see my mother, or talk about my dad, and I was really concerned about the fact that I had slept for nearly 2 days. As I forced myself to sit up I noticed how hot I was. So now I can add fever to list of concerns. I instantly regretted sitting up because I got really nauseous. I guess one of the boys had heard me moving around because Sam opened my door and ran over to me. He looked relieved that I was awake but then he saw that I was going to be sick and grabbed the trash can next to the bed. Right after he gave it to me I started to throw up. I'm not sure how long this went on but since my nose was clogged up I was finding it very hard to breath. Once there was nothing left in my stomach I started to dry heave with my breath coming in short gasps. Sam gave me a tissue to wipe my mouth with and told Emily to go get a glass of water. I looked over his shoulder but my mother wasn't standing in the door way so I let my self relax for now. Sam went to clean out the trash can when Emily came in.

She looked tired and worried. She put the glass on the nightstand next to the bed and sat down text to me. "Hey. I guess I scared you the other night huh?" I was trying to let her know that, for the most part, I was ok, but my throat was scratchy and my voice was a hoarse whisper. "Everybody has been worried about you. We had a doctor come to the house after you passed out and he told us that, on top of getting sick from being in the rain, you had been having a panic attack and that this was your body's way of dealing with all the stress." I just nodded my head, trying to process her words with some difficulty. All of my thoughts seemed kind of fuzzy. I was starting to get really hot but if I sat up I knew I would be sick again. I looked at her again and asked, "Do you think you could pull the comforter back a little? It's just really hot in here." She nodded and lifted it back, then she turned and put her hand on my forehead. Her eyebrows pulled together and she stood up. "I'll be right back. I need to get something for your fever." I didn't want to be alone, but I didn't know if my voice would work anymore. She came back about a minute later with a pill in her hand and then grabbed the water from the table. She moved to help me sit up but I shook my head no. I wasn't sure if my stomach or head could handle it. "You need to sit up so you can take this. You need to get your fever down." I shook my head again but held my hand out for the pill. She let me put it in my mouth and then let me sip some water. Now if I can just keep this down I can start to feel better. But I soon learned that this wasn't going to happen because about 3 minutes later I was sick again. When I was done I laid back against my pillow, my head throbbing and my eyes a little blurry. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath then croaked out, "I want Embry." And boy was that true, he was the only person I knew could calm me down. Emily looked at me for a second before slowly saying, "I don't think that's a good idea. At least not until your fever is gone. I don't want his body heat to make you worse. Trust me, he has been wanting to come up here the last 2 days." Why couldn't I see him? I didn't care if I got worse, I just needed to see him. "Emily, please. I _need_ to see him," I croaked out. I was almost panicky and didn't know what I would do if she old me no. She sighed and left the room.

I just stared at the door until I saw it start to open again. Embry walked into the room and straight over to me, his faced filled with worry. He dragged a chair over and once he had sat down he laid his head on my lap and put his arms around my waist. I started to relax instantly and started to run my fingers through his hair for a few minutes. But the more I started thinking the more questions popped into my head. "Embry?" I whispered and his head shot up towards my face. "What's wrong with me? Nobody would be this worried if I just had a cold." A look of pain crossed his face and his answer came out sounding almost choked. "We're not sure yet, but the doctors think that your immune system is shutting down." What? From a cold? That made no sense. Right when I was about to ask him another question I started to sneeze, which then turned into coughing, which made me very light headed. Embry stood up and was about to go get me some more water when I almost passed out, again. He helped me stop swaying and yelled for Emily. She came running trough the door and when she saw me she looked almost as panicked as me. "Emily, she is only getting worse. If you don't take her to the hospital then I will!" I clutched his arm as another wave of dizziness came over me. He picked me up, careful not to move me around too much, and headed for the stairs. Sam had run out to get his truck started and wanted Embry to keep me in the house while it warmed up. I was starting to get a little sweaty but I didn't feel hot. In fact I was getting really bad cold chills and was starting to shiver. Once the truck was ready Embry ran out to it and did his best to keep the rain off of me. He put me in the passenger seat and then took off.

The ride to the hospital felt like the longest 30 minutes of my life. Even if my voice was working my speech would have become very slurred at this point. When we were parked I let Embry pick me up and slumped into his chest. He ran through the door and asked on of the closest nurses for help. Normally I would have had to sit in a chair and wait for an hour or so, but when she looked at me she started to rush around. I thought I heard her call for somebody but my thoughts were getting very fogged over and I could feel myself starting to black out. The only thing keeping me awake was the person that was shaking me. I didn't know who it was but I really wanted them to stop. I was vaguely aware of the nurse putting me on a stretcher and soon realized the person shaking me was actually just my body shaking. I started to cough and then gasp, trying hard to stay awake. I heard and unfamiliar voice say something, sounding very rushed and loud, and then I felt consciousness slip away from me.

* * *

I could hear an annoying beeping sound slowly starting to get louder. I groaned and blinked a few times before my eyes would stay open. I was in an ugly blue hospital gown and my muscle felt sore from the stiff bed. I turned my head slightly and saw Embry with his face next to my hand sleeping. I tried to sit up but my body was to weak, so I just lifted my hand and put it on Embry's head. I ran my fingers through it a few times before he startled, jerking awake. He let out a big a big sigh before saying, "You're awake. I thought you were never going to open your eyes." I smiled weakly before I whispered, "How long was I asleep this time?" My throat was scratchy and hurt when I talked. "Almost 3 days this time. I mean I know you like sleeping and everything but it can get a little lonely." I laughed, well it sounded more like a dying horse, and was glad he was joking around with me. That had to mean that I would be ok. I was about to ask another question when Sam and Emily walked though the door. A look of relief washed over them both and she ran over to my bed. "Oh my gosh! You're awake! Embry, why didn't you tell us?" I smiled a little and Embry just shrugged his shoulders. I was going to attempt to sit up again when Emily put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. I raised an eyebrow and she answered, "The doctors told us that you don't need any kind of physical strain and should rest. Sam just left to get somebody to let them know you're awake, so when they come they can tell us when you get to go home. They also said that you should try to stray from overpowering emotions, they will put you back in a panicked state and this will just keep happening until you get better." I just nodded my head and laid back down. She grabbed my hand and leaned over me to kiss my forehead. "What was wrong with me?" When I asked this I guess Embry noticed how dry my throat sounded because he said he was going to get me some water. "Well, you were very dehydrated and all of the stress you have been going through has caused your immune system to weaken. You have been on an IV so you are well hydrated, and the doctor wants to make sure you are felling a lot stronger before you go home." The mention of home sent a painful longing through me so I tried to change the subject. We made small talk for awhile before Sam came in with the doctor.

He was younger but I assumed he was very good at what he did if Sam trusted him. He smiled and walked over to the IV. "Hello, Violet. I'm Doctor Carp. How are you feeling?" He wrote something down while looking at a monitor and then turned to me. "Um, I have a small headache, my muscles are sore, and I feel tired." I might have played down some of my injuries, just the headache and the tiredness, but I really didn't want to stay in the hospital. He told me he wanted me to stay for at least the next 2 days and then we would see how I was feeling. I just nodded and closed my eyes so I could sleep of some of my exhaustion.


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry for the delay in posting. I have had a lot of school work pile up. I have a few ideas in mind for the story and am planning on adding in a few more plot twists.**

It had been 2 days since I was rushed to the hospital. I was feeling a lot better and knew that as long as I didn't stress myself out to much I would be back to normal in no time. My only problem now was my mother. I still couldn't figure out how to process what she told me, all of my emotions were starting to get mixed together. Not that she has come by to discus anything with me. She has known I was in the hospital the entire time and she hasn't come to see me. She hasn't even called, and when Emily called her to ask where the hell she was she got mad and hung up. I just kept reminding myself that I only had one month of school left and then I could move out.

I was currently putting on some jeans while Sam signed my discharge papers when my phone rang. I quickly grabbed it, hopping it was my mom, but was disappointed when I saw Kim's name. She had to go out of town yesterday and, no matter how hard I tried , she wouldn't believe me when I told her I was fine. I declined the call but sent her a text, telling her that I would call her later. Embry walked through the door and told me we were good to go. I smiled and he walked us down the hall to the elevator. We met Emily and Sam in the front lobby and walked to the parking lot. Before I could get in the truck Emily said, "Don't forget that you can't be under a lot of stress right now. If you start to get overwhelmed come over to out house." I just smiled and nodded my head.

The drive to my house was about 30 minutes but it felt more like 3. The closer we got the more worried I became about what would happen when I walked through the door. When Embry pulled up in the driveway he turned to me. "Don't stress out to much, ok? You can always call me to come get you." I agreed and kissed him before getting out. I walked up the front porch and turned the door knob with a shaky hand. I held my breath and pushed the door open. I didn't see my mom, and it was quiet in the house, and I let out a long sigh. I knew she would probably do this. I walked into the kitchen and saw a note on the table. It read, "Violet, Emily called and told me you were coming home today. I won't be back until tomorrow morning. Mom." I crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trash. Tears welled up in my eyes but I took a deep breath and blinked them back. I sat on the couch and let myself calm down enough before I texted Embry. I just told him not to worry because my mom wasn't at home and then walked upstairs to my room. I saw my backpack o the bed and it reminded me I had to go back to school in 2 days. I wasn't worried though, I did all of my make up work in the hospital. I moved the bag to the floor and laid down, letting my heavy eyelids close over my eyes.

The next thing I knew I was face down on the floor. I guess I had fallen asleep and rolled off of my bed. That's when I heard someone knocking and slowly got up. On the way to the door I checked the time, I had only been asleep for about an hour. Embry was standing in the door way and when I stepped back to let him in he crushed me to him. I had no idea why he was hugging me like this but I just wrapped my arms around his waist and put my face in the crook of his neck. I mumbled, "What are you doing here?" I pulled back and looked up at him, searching his face for an answer. "I would have been here sooner but I had to calm down after reading that text." I could feel the look of understanding cross my face, closed the door, and I hugged him again. "Are you ok?" he asked me, knowing I wasn't going to lie to him. I nodded and said, "I'm used to it. It actually worked better that she wasn't here." He just nodded and went to sit with me on the couch. He didn't stay long, he had to get home before his mom freaked, but I was happy he came over. When he left I went to the kitchen to get some dinner. It had felt like forever since I had real food and I was so glad I didn't have to eat the mush they served at the hospital anymore. I ate a bowl of potato soup and then took a shower. I was feeling better but my stamina was still a little low so I decided to go to bed early.

I woke up to the sound of the door slamming. I knew my mom couldn't be home because it was still dark in my room, which only made me more nervous. I stumbled my way down the stairs and went to see who was in the kitchen. Before I turned the wall of the stairs I paused to listen. I heard what sounded like my mom giggling and then a man's deep voice follow. I slowly walked to the kitchen entrance and then froze. I could feel my eyes widen at the sight in front of me, my mother was in the kitchen kissing someone. I had to tell myself to remember to breath and stay calm. But right now I wasn't sad, I had decided in the hospital my mother wouldn't cause me anymore heartache, the only thing I felt was anger. It was like seeing her with this man sparked some sort of fire with my emotions and I was _mad_. "What the hell, mom?! Who is that?!" I screamed from the hallway. Both of them jumped apart and turned to me. The man was smart enough to stay silent but my mother was not. "Violet, it is extremely rude to yell when we have a guest over. I'm glad your feeling better though." Was she trying to make me the bad guy here? I just couldn't deal with her anymore. "Cut the shit mom. Just stop! I am so tired of everything being my fault. I can never do anything right for you and I'm tired of it! This is the last straw. I'm not going to stay here and listen to you yell at me about all of the shitty choices you have made! So while you are out whoring around I fill be finding somewhere else to stay!" I wanted to run out the door but if I was leaving I would need an over night bag to hold me over until I could come back. I dashed up the stairs and slammed my door shut. I grabbed a duffle bag from my closet and just grabbed a handful of clothes. I quickly ran to the bathroom and grabbed a few necessities then slowly made my way down the stairs. I could hear my mom saying some form of apology to the man whore in our kitchen so I headed back up the stairs. The tree outside my window is easy to reach so I would just climb my way out. I sent a text to Emily and told her I was on my way to her house, but then felt bad because I forgot it was like 2:30 in the morning. I didn't have time to dwell on it though because I heard my mom start walking up the stairs. I ran over and locked my door before I opened my window. I tossed my duffle bag out first and the wiggled my way over to the tree. Right when I hit the ground I heard my mom bang on the door. I grabbed my door and took off running. I stumbled in the darkness and fell, my ankle rolling in the process. I yelped in pain, pushed myself back up, and started limping my way through the dark. But instead of being sad I felt so... so _free_. I smiled despite the pain in my leg and let out a deep breath.

Emily never responded to my text but I figured she was asleep, so when I got to the house I just sat down on the front porch. Right when I had sat down rain started to pour down rain and I regretted not grabbing a jacket. I pulled my knees into my chest and pushed my back into the side of the house to try and stay out of the wind. I knew I could just go inside but I felt like that would be rude. So I laid my head back and fell asleep, letting the rain wash away all of the bad memories of my mother.


	15. Chapter 15

**Once again I do not own Twilight, sadly.**

My eyelids fluttered opened but then quickly closed because the harsh light. I didn't remember it being so bright in my room. That's when I felt the rough wood of the porch digging into my back and then last night came back to me, but again I wasn't sad. I sat up, my stiff back protesting, when I felt a throbbing pain coming from my ankle. I looked down, hoping my ankle didn't look as bad as it felt, and my hopes were quickly squashed. It was swollen and was almost black. I stood up and hopped my way to the door. I couldn't hear anybody moving around, and wasn't sure what time it was, so I assumed everyone was still asleep. I pulled the door back and limped my way over to the couch. I pulled my phone out of my bag and saw that it was 7 o'clock and knew that Sam and Emily would be up soon. I flopped back into the cushions and closed my eyes, enjoying the quiet. Then all of a sudden I heard a thud, someone yell something, and feet dashing down the stairs. I turned to face the stairs and saw a very disheveled looking Emily practically falling down the last two steps.

"Um, good morning?" I was aiming for casual but it sounded more like I was asking a question. "What the Hell? Are you ok?! I just got your text." Emily was breathing hard and I could tell that she normally doesn't run around her house right when she wakes up. I stood up as fast as my foot would let me and said, "Em, I'm fine. Mom just... well she... um give me a second." I told her, not sure how to tell her that her sister was a slut and had brought a man whore into our house last night. "Ok, so mom and I had a little, well a _big_ , fight last night and I left. Don't worry I don't plan on staying with you, I just didn't know where to come last night. And I'm sorry for scaring you." And I really was, after all she has done for me I feel like all I do is make her worry. She let out a long breath and walked towards me. "Well I'm glad your ok, that you came and slept on the couch." I felt myself blush at her words and turn my head a little bit. "Um, yeah, about that. I slept on the porch last night. But before you get freaked out it was because I didn't want to wake you up!" I rushed out the words in hopes she wouldn't over react. She just shook her head but smiled at me. "Well I'm just glad your alright. So what are you planning to do now? I know you are going to finish school in the next, what, 2 weeks. But what about where you are going to stay?" I knew the questions were bound to come but it was still a little early for me to answer. "I'll talk with you about it later. How about for now you go upstairs and calm Sam down, and I will start on breakfast for the guys." She nodded and headed back up to her room. I was glad she was gone so she wouldn't see me limp over to the kitchen.

Once I had made it to my destination I opened the fridge. I pulled out everything I needed to make pancakes and fruit salad, and got to work. I started cutting up some strawberries when I heard Sam and Emily on the stairs. I smiled as they sat down at the table and tried not to cut off one of my fingers. After some small talk Sam went out to go get the guys and Emily came over to help me cook. I did as best as I could to hide my foot from her and it worked pretty well. Once she had all the food done and her back was to me I jumped back over to the table. A few minutes later all of the boys came pilling through the door and looked a little surprised to see me. Embry walked over and kissed my forehead and I smiled up and him. "Hey. What are you doing here so early?" he asked, his face filled with curiosity. I knew I needed to tell him but I also knew I needed to wait so he wouldn't get mad. "Oh, nothing. I just got up early, that's all." I leaned up and kissed him before everybody sat down. The rest of breakfast was uneventful, we all just talked and enjoyed each others company, until I stood up to clean my dishes.

I had forgotten about my ankle and when I stood up I gasped in pain. I put my plate on the table and grabbed the back of my chair for support. Everybody was looking at me, some looked worried while others looked confused. Embry asked, "Are you ok Violet? What's wrong?" I just nodded my head and said, "I'm fine. My ankle is just a little sore." I was going to walk into the kitchen, wanting to escape all of the stares I was getting, but it hurt to much to put a lot of weight on my foot. Considering I was a bad liar and Embry knew me too well he got up and walked over to me. I let him pick me up, wishing the throbbing in my ankle would disappear, and he walked me over to the couch. "Good lord! What did you do?" I could tell he didn't know what to do but I knew how to calm him down. So I slid over into his lap and grabbed his neck, pulling his face in front of mine. I looked him in the eyes and whispered, "Embry. Hey, look at me. That's it, just look at me. I don't really want to tell my story right now, but if you, Emily, and Sam would like to come talk to me outside that would be great." He nodded his head before saying, "I'm having Emily look at your ankle first." I agreed, not fighting him on this, because my foot hurt to bad. She walked over to us and gasped when she saw my ankle. "Oh my God! Why didn't you tell me you did this?" I just shrugged letting her take off my shoes. I gasped, flinching in pain as she touched my bone. I laid my head in the crook of Embry's neck and tightly shut my eyes. A stinging pain was coming from my ankle now and I tried to pull away from Emily's grasp. She loosened her grip but slowly pulled my leg back to her. "I'm sorry," I breathed out, my voice a little shaky. Embry just rubbed my back and held me to his chest trying to calm me down. Emily looked over at the boys and told them that they could head outside and told Sam to get some ice. I was praying that she was just going to put ice on it but my prayers were not answered. Once Sam had sat don on the couch next to us she gave Embry a look and he sat me up a little, so that I was facing her. "Violet," she started talking, her voice soft and calming, "I need you to sit still for me. Your ankle is popped out of place and I need to try and put it back in the socket. Are you going to be ok?" I nodded my head, dread coming over me knowing this was going to hurt like hell. I took in a shaky breath and held it as she picked up my foot. It was quiet for a few seconds before she pulled on my ankle and there was a nasty popping sound, followed by my cry of pain. I turned my head into Embry's chest, a few stray tears soaking into his shirt, my breathing ragged. The pain was slowly starting to leave but my foot was still a little swollen. Emily placed the ice on it and I curled myself into Embry, relaxing as his arms wrapped around me. Emily sat on Sam's lap, brushing some hair out of my face, waiting for me to calm down. I shifted and turned to face her, knowing that she was going to want some answers.

It surprised me a little when Sam was the one to talk first. "Violet, what happened? I know you didn't do that walking to our house." I sucked in a deep breath and started my story. "Well, I actually did do this walking to your house, but the story is a bit longer than that. When I got home yesterday mom wasn't there but she left a note saying she wouldn't be home until today. After a little while I went upstairs and fell asleep. It was about 2 in the morning when I heard the door slam downstairs. I was confused so I went to see who was in the kitchen. And you know what I saw? She was in the kitchen, with some man, practically letting him fuck her on the counter top. So I got mad and just exploded. I mean after all the crap she gave me for dating Embry and then I see that, I just couldn't deal with her anymore. So I started yelling, telling her that she was a bad mom, and then I told her I was leaving. And I did. I ran upstairs, packed a bag, and jumped out my window. On the way over here it was really dark and I tripped on a tree branch, hurting my ankle. But I'm not upset, not anymore. I told myself I wouldn't let her hurt me anymore and she hasn't. I'm just glad I got away from her." I finished up my small speech and took in a deep breath. Embry was starting to shake so I turned around to look at him. You couldn't miss the anger in his eyes, and even though I knew he wasn't mad at me I got scared. He was always so laid back. "Embry? Embry!" I yelled to get his attention. His head snapped to me but he wouldn't look at my face. "Hey, stop. Embry, look at me. Please, Embry, you're scaring me." I whispered the last part as he finally made eye contact with me, and these words seemed to snap him out of his haze. His shaking stopped and he pulled me back into his chest, burying his face in my hair. I turned my head to look at Emily and she looked like she was about to bust into tears and I immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you that." I whispered, trying to wiggle out of Embry's arms. I let me stand up and I turned and started walking for the door. "Violet? Where are you going?" I knew Sam wanted to talk to me but I couldn't keep hurting people like this. "I just... I need some air." And with that I walked out the door.

I was surprised that I had made it to the beach and nobody had followed me. _Of course they aren't going to follow you,_ I thought to myself. _Why would they waist there time on someone who just bothers them?_ I was walking close to the water but had to stop because my vision was blurring. I sat down and starting crying, beyond mad at myself. After everything I had done before I moved here I still couldn't learn to just leave people alone. I just had to get involved and then when people started to care about me I screwed it all up. I started sobbing, my tears mixing with the waves as the washed over the sand, everything finally crashing down on me. Why did I have to be so stupid? I thought I heard someone walking towards me, but this time instead of letting them come help me I got up. I turned around, but my vision was still effected from all of my crying that I couldn't see who was in front of me. So instead of letting myself cause anyone anymore pain, I turned back around and started running. I stumbled a few times but I didn't stop. I knew that if the person behind me caught me they would take me back to Emily's and I would just end up hurting her again. So I ran as fast as I could for as long as I could, until I started to lose steam. I'm not out of shape but with the crying and wet sand running was challenging. I felt strong arms wrap around me and I tried to wiggle out of their grasp, screaming and kicking, but it was no use. I started to sob again and slumped against the person holding me. He sat down and pulled me next to him, rubbing my back while I cried. I was surprised when Sam's voice met my ears. "Violet," he started, speaking in a soft tone, "are you ok? Why did you run?" I took some deep breaths and wiped excess tears from my face. "Because every time I talk to somebody I always screw something up. And I can't deal with it anymore. Everyone I get close to either gets hurt or I just waist their time." I heard Sam sigh behind me, turning me so I was looking at him. "I want you to get something clear. None of the things that have happened o you in the past year are your fault. You may think that but it's not true. And, for the record, nobody back in that house hates you. Sure Emily was upset but not because you told her the truth. She needed to know. So why don't we head back up their and get a few things straightened out, ok?" I nodded my head and let him pull me up, and slowly walked back to the house.


	16. Chapter 16

**I do not own any of the Twilight characters. This is going to be the last chapter so I will be wrapping everything up.**

 **I just want to thank everybody for all of the support I got and I appreciate all of the tips I was given.**

The 2 weeks that followed after leaving my mom seemed to pass by in a blur. I got a job at the diner where Seth's mom worked and Emily was letting me stay until I had enough money to buy a house. Jacob's dad, Billy, let me have his old truck, saying that he had no use for it anymore. I had just finished high school and my graduation was today. I ended up passing my art class and my grades over all weren't bad. I didn't have any plans for college yet but Embry was helping me look for places near by. He also hasn't let me out of his sight since I tried to run from everybody. And if he didn't see me in person for some reason, he would call and talk to me.

I am going through my closet, trying to find something to wear for tonight, when I hear a knock on my door. I walked over and saw Emily standing in my doorway, holding a shopping bag in her hand. I gave her a curious look but she just shoved the bag towards me. I opened it and pulled out a beautiful dress. It was knee length with a tool skirt and was strapless. It was a light blue color to match my eyes and sitting in the bottom of the bag was a pair of matching heels.

"Emily! It's gorgeous but you didn't have to do this." I didn't even know when she had time to go out and shop. Sam hardly ever left her side now that she was pregnant.

"Oh, hush. I knew you wouldn't go out and get something nice, so I did it for you. Now let me fix your hair, I am not letting you leave the house with a shaggy mess on your head. " I laughed at her and walked to the bathroom. It took her about an hour to do my hair and make up. I got dressed and headed down stairs where Embry and Sam were waiting. I giggled when I saw Embry, he was dressed up in dress pants and a tie but looked very uncomfortable. When he saw me he just stood there for a second before letting out a long breath.

"You look amazing." he breathed out, his eyes never leaving mine. I smiled and walked over to him. I gave him a quick kiss before we walked out to the car. The ceremony didn't last long but the speech given was very touching. The whole pack came and all of the imprints were there too. The ceremony had just ended and I saw Kim running towards me. I laughed and met her half way, giving her a huge hug.

"I can't believe it. We graduated! And you didn't flunk out of art." she teased me knowing I still hated that class. I laughed and dragged her over to where everyone was waiting. It was moments like these, seeing all the people I love together, when I do miss my mom. But then I am reassured that nobody is ever going to let me be alone. I found Embry talking to Jared and hooked my arm around his waist. He leaned down and kissed my hair and I knew that the rest of my life was going to be amazing.


End file.
